New Books Network Podcast

Economic and Business History May 28, 2023

Better Money

Gold, Fiat, or Bitcoin?

Lawrence H. White

Hosted by Bernardo Batiz-Lazo

The recent rise of dollar, pound, and euro inflation rates has rekindled the debate over potential alternative monies, particularly gold and Bitcoin. Though Bitcoin has been much discussed in recent …

Madison's Notes May 26, 2023

Missing: Men at Work

A Conversation with Nick Eberstadt

Nick Eberstadt

Hosted by Annika Nordquist

Over six million prime-age men are neither working nor looking for work; America's low unemployment rate hides the fact that many men have dropped out of the workforce altogether. Our …

Sociology May 25, 2023

The Political Economy of Fortune and Misfortune

Prospects for Prosperity in Our Times

Scott Timcke

Hosted by Michael Johnston

Luck greatly influences a person's quality of life. Yet little of our politics looks at how institutions can amplify good or bad luck that widens social inequality. But societies can …

Economics May 24, 2023

The Global Architecture of Multilateral Development Banks

A System of Debt or Development?

Adrian R. Bazbauers and Susan Engel

Hosted by Sidney Michelini

Adrian Bazbauers and Susan Engel’s 2021 book The Global Architecture of Multilateral Development Banks: A System of Debt or Development? (Routledge, 2023) explores the evolution of the 30 functioning multilateral development …

Madison's Notes May 22, 2023

Truth, Fiction, and Student Loan Forgiveness

A Conversation with Beth Akers

Beth Akers

Hosted by Annika Nordquist

With the Biden Administration's student loan relief coming down the pike, Annika sits down with Dr. Beth Akers, a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who specializes in higher …

Critical Theory May 21, 2023

Contemporary Art from Nigeria in the Global Markets

Trending in the Margins

Jonathan Adeyemi

Hosted by Dave O'Brien

How does the art market work? In Contemporary Art from Nigeria in the Global Markets: Trending in the Margins (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022), Jonathan Adeyemi, who holds a PhD from, and was formerly …

Madison's Notes May 19, 2023

Inflation, Past and Present

A Conversation with Tyler Goodspeed

Tyler Goodspeed

Hosted by Annika Nordquist

We all know that things are a little more expensive when we head to the grocery store. But what does inflation actually mean? How did we get to where we …

Public Policy May 18, 2023

The Ends of Freedom

Reclaiming America's Lost Promise of Economic Rights

Mark Paul

Hosted by Caleb Zakarin

Since the Founding, Americans have debated the true meaning of freedom. For some, freedom meant the provision of life's necessities, those basic conditions for the "pursuit of happiness." For others …

Politics & Polemics May 17, 2023

Silent Coup

How Corporations Overthrew Democracy

Claire Provost and Matt Kennard

Hosted by Miranda Melcher

As European empires crumbled in the 20th century, the power structures that had dominated the world for centuries were up for renegotiation. Yet instead of a rebirth for democracy, what …

Economics May 15, 2023

The Power of Hope

How the Science of Well-Being Can Save Us from Despair

Carol Graham

Hosted by Joseph Tasca

In a society marked by extreme inequality of income and opportunity, why should economists care about how people feel? The truth is that feelings of well-being are critical metrics that …

Mobilities and Methods May 10, 2023

The Fluvial Imagination

On Lesotho’s Water-Export Economy

Colin Hoag

Hosted by Alize Arıcan

Landlocked and surrounded by South Africa on all sides, the mountain kingdom of Lesotho became the world's first "water-exporting country" when it signed a 1986 treaty with its powerful neighbor …

Geography May 10, 2023

Carbon Colonialism

How Rich Countries Export Climate Breakdown

Laurie Parsons

Hosted by Stentor Danielson

Climate change is devastating the planet, and globalisation is hiding it. Laurie Parsons's book Carbon Colonialism: How Rich Countries Export Climate Breakdown (Manchester UP, 2023) opens our eyes. Around the world …

World Affairs May 6, 2023

Accidental Conflict

America, China, and the Clash of False Narratives

Stephen Roach

Hosted by Keith Krueger

Denial is a classic symptom of codependency ... Lacking a sense of self, codependent partners tend to be hypersensitive to criticism or negative feedback, preferring instead to deflect it onto …

Critical Theory May 6, 2023

Work and Alienation in the Platform Economy

Amazon and the Power of Organization

Sarrah Kassem

Hosted by Dave O'Brien

How have platforms transforming the world of work? In Work and Alienation in the Platform Economy: Amazon and the Power of Organisation (Bristol UP, 2023), Sarrah Kassem, a Lecturer and Research …

Economic and Business History May 5, 2023

Power and Progress

Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity

Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson

Hosted by Javier Mejia

Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity (PublicAffairs, 2023) is a groundbreaking work by bestselling authors Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson, in which they challenge conventional wisdom about …

Business, Management, and Marketing May 5, 2023

Reinventing the Supply Chain

A 21st-Century Covenant with America

Jack Buffington

Hosted by Caleb Zakarin

When the COVID-19 pandemic led to a global economic "shutdown" in March 2020, our supply chains began to fail, and out-of-stocks and delivery delays became the new norm. Contrary …

Urban Studies May 2, 2023

City of Refugees

The Story of Three Newcomers Who Breathed Life into a Dying American Town

Susan Hartman

Hosted by Susan Thomson

How can scholars employ the practices and techniques of investigative journalism? Susan Hartman provides an answer in her intimate look at refugee experience in the United States. In City of …

Biography May 1, 2023

The Emergence of Arthur Laffer

The Foundations of Supply-Side Economics in Chicago and Washington, 1966–1976

Brian Domitrovic

Hosted by Caleb Zakarin

The Emergence of Arthur Laffer: The Foundations of Supply-Side Economics in Chicago and Washington, 1966–1976 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2021) explores the origins of Arthur Laffer’s economic theories and how they became a part …

Philosophy May 1, 2023

Mobilizing Hope

Climate Change and Global Poverty

Darrel Moellendorf

Hosted by Robert Talisse

The news concerning climate change isn’t good. The warming of our planet now threatens to trap millions of people in extreme poverty while destabilizing the global order in ways that …

Environmental Studies April 25, 2023

Our Lives in Their Portfolios

Why Asset Managers Own the World

Brett Christophers

Hosted by Brian Hamilton

Banks have taken a backseat since the global financial crisis over a decade ago. Today, our new financial masters are asset managers, like Blackstone and BlackRock. And they don't just …